Case for an electronic device

ABSTRACT

To provide a case with a flash guard for an electronic device where the device is equipped with a camera and a flash that are adjacent to each other and where the case has at least one hole in the case body to expose the camera and flash and where the one hole is a dark material in order to protect against flash flare from the camera flash.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) AND CLAIM OF PRIORITY

The present application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. section 119(a) of Japanese Utility Model Applications filed in the Japan Patent Office on Jun. 28, 2010 and assigned serial number 2010-4757, Jul. 2, 2010 and assigned serial number 2010-4899, and Jul. 9, 2010 and assigned serial number 2010-5065, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference and finally to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/939,905 filed 2010 Nov. 4, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to a case for an electronic device, and specifically, to a case for an electronic device equipped with a camera unit and a flash such that the case will prevent and guard against flash flare.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Various types of cases have been designed mainly to enclose and protect electronic devices, especially, portable electronic devices such as mobile phones and portable music players. The cases can protect the devices from being scratched and cracked.

The electronic devices could have many different buttons or control devices, such as a touch screen panel, a back panel with a camera lens and a flash, a volume control button, and a power switch, just to mention a few. The cases must be designed to fit and cover the device without hindering each button or switch, or without impeding any function operatable from the device surface.

For example, for a device with a camera that includes a camera lens and a flash equipped on the back panel, the case must have at least one hole in appropriate size to not become an obstacle for taking pictures and using the flash. The camera lens and flash hole should be aligned to keep the camera lens and flash portions open and clear and at the same time should be small enough to not expose any unnecessary or enlarged openings, thus providing for both better appearance and for better device protection.

Because of the size of the device, the camera lens and flash are often positioned close to each other. In many instances the camera and flash are located on an approximately flat back panel of the device. The flash and camera lens each can be positioned at a bottom of a cylindrical hole below the back panel surface, so that the back panel has an approximately level surface. In this structure, when the back panel surface is translucent with or without color, the flash light emitted from the flash spreads out on the back panel surface, and the cylindrical or conical wall surrounding the camera lens is designed to prevent the flash light from reflecting back into the camera lens area by diffusing, scattering or absorbing the light in order to prevent any adverse effect on the resultant picture taken. However, when the device is covered by a translucent or clear case, the light from the flash tends to travel through the case and then reflects off of the translucent or clear case to an edge surface of the camera lens hole of the case. When this happens the light from the flash causes an adverse effect on the resultant picture.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The above-object of this invention can be solved by providing a shading treatment to the case for the electronic device with the camera lens and flash. The shading treatment, or flash guard, can be used around the camera lens and flash hole on the device case, thereby creating the shading area. The shading area, or flash guard, can be provided at least on an internal circumferential wall of the hole. The case can have either one or more holes configured to reveal both the camera lens and the flash. When the case has a single hole then the shading area can be on the entire circumference of the hole. When the case has two separate holes for the camera lens and the flash, then the shading area can be provided to either one of the holes or both holes in order to have a greater flash guarding effect. The flat surface of the hole is generally in a circular, elliptical or cylindrical shape and the depth of the hole as it extends from the electronic device's body outwardly to the outer surface of the case can be flat or conical in shape, and the shading treatment should be applied on the internal circumferential wall of the hole. As noted, the shading area can be extended to the back surface, or the device contacting surface, of the case and propagates out from the camera lens and flash holes. The shading area may be formed by applying a colored paint or applying a paint material that gives the shading effect.

Another aspect of this invention is to provide the case where the shading area, or flash guard, has at least one shading member, which is partially or entirely made of the shading material that gives the shading effect or is coated by the shading color paint or the paint material that gives the shading effect. This shading member, or flash guard piece, can be separately and individually manufactured and then integrated into the case, or it may be integrally manufactured together with and on the case, around the camera hole or the flash hole.

Another aspect of this invention is to provide the case where the case has at least one hole exposing the camera lens and the flash of the device and the shading area comprises at least one detachable flash guard shading piece, approximately matching the size of the hole or holes. The detachable shading piece has at least one opening to expose the camera lens and the flash, and the detachable shading piece is partially or entirely made of the shading material that gives the shading, flash guarding effect, or is coated by the shading color paint or the paint material that gives the shading, flash guarding effect. The detachable shading piece is ideally a cylindrical or conical ring shape but it can any other shape. Also, the shading area can be formed by using a sticker that partially or entirely is made of the shading material that gives the shading effect or the shading area could be coated by the shading color paint or the paint material that gives the shading effect.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the case with a separate camera hole and flash hole and the device for the case installation;

FIG. 2 is a cross section view of the case of FIG. 1 showing the shading areas;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the case with the back surface shading area covering both camera hole and flash hole;

FIG. 4 is a cross section view of the case of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the case with the shading part around the circumference of the camera and flash hole;

FIG. 6 is a cross section view of the case of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the case with the shading part in a larger area including both camera hole and flash hole;

FIG. 8 is a cross section view of the case of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the case with the case, the detachable shading piece, and the device;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the case with the detachable shading piece attached on the device;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the case with the detachable shading piece to be attached in the device with the cover;

FIG. 12 is a cross section view of the device with the shading piece of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of another type of detachable shading piece;

FIG. 14 is a cross section view of the device with the shading piece of FIG. 14;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of another type of detachable shading piece;

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the case, the device and the shading sticker;

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the shading sticker on the device;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of the case, the device and another type of shading sticker;

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the case, the device and another type of shading sticker; and

FIG. 20 is a perspective view of the case, the device and another type of shading sticker.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In the following paragraphs, this invention and preferred embodiments will be explained with reference to the drawings.

First Embodiment

FIGS. 1-4 illustrate the first embodiment of this invention. FIG. 1 is the perspective view of a case 40 with a camera hole 50 and a flash hole 60 and FIG. 2 is a cross section view of the case 40 of FIG. 1 showing shading treatment forming a flash guard 70.

An electronic device 10 for which the case 40 of this invention is used has a cylindrical camera lens unit 20 and a cylindrical flash unit 30. The case 40 covers the electronic device 10 for various purposes such as protecting the device from damage and decorating the device 10 for a user's preference. The case 40 needs to have an opening or openings to expose the camera lens unit 20 and the flash unit 30 without obstruction so as to take a clear picture. FIG. 1 discloses the individual camera lens hole 50 and flash hole 60 in the case 40. The case 40 fits on the device 10 and the camera lens hole 50 and the flash hole 60 correspond accurately with the camera lens unit 20 and the flash 30 respectively on a back panel 11 of the device 10. When properly installed the camera lens hole 50 and the flash hole 60 are positioned to completely and accurately expose the camera lens unit 20 and the flash unit 30 without obstruction.

FIG. 2 is a cross section view of the case 40 fitting and partially enclosing the device 10. The case 40 in FIG. 2 shows the shading treatment 70 divided into two areas, i.e., a camera lens shading coating 71 and a flash shading coating 72. The camera lens shading coating 71 is a shade treated area created by forming a shading layer on a surface of a first cylindrical case wall 51 of the camera lens hole 50. The flash shading coating 72 is a shade treated area created by forming a shading layer on a surface of a second cylindrical case wall 62 of the flash hole 60 that then acts as a flash guard to prevent flash bounce. The shading treatment 70 here may be established by shade coating such as by applying shading color paint or coating with shading materials. The shading material may include metal, material with shading color, and any material by itself or mixture thereof providing shading effects. It could also be a textured or matte material or finish. The camera lens unit 20 and the flash unit 30 are closely positioned, and when the flash 30 emits light, the light spreads out on the back panel 11 of the device 4. However, the camera lens 21 is located at a bottom part of the cylindrical camera unit 20, and the cylindrical wall 22 thereof prevents the flash from traveling to the camera lens 21. However, when the translucent case 4 is on the device 10, the flash light emitted from the flash 30 bounces off the case causing a flash bounce or flash flare whereby the light hits the case 40 and spreads out thereon to adversely affect the resultant image taken by the camera lens. Even if the case is made of non-translucent rubber and plastics, the light from the flash reflects upon the case and then upon the cylindrical surface of the camera unit 20, which causes an adverse effect on the picture. The flash shading treatment 70 creates a protective flash guard that minimizes this negative light effect and prevents much of the light from spreading to the camera 20 when the light is emitted from the flash 30. It does this by using the dark, shading coating to diffuse, scatter or absorb the light from the flash so that it does not negatively affect photos. The matte material, if used, also helps to prevent the light from reaching the lens area.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the case 40 with a covering back surface shading coating flash guard 73 covering both camera lens hole 50 and flash hole 60. FIG. 4 is a cross section view of the case 40 of FIG. 3. Shapes and sizes of the shading area are not limited, and an additional back surface shading area 73 can extend from a camera shading part 74 and a flash shading, flash guarding part 75 to form the back surface shading area 73 which is located on a back surface of the case 40 around the holes 50 and 60. This extra shading area further minimizes the traveling of the flash light emitted from the flash 31 to the camera lens 21, especially through any gap between the back surface of the case 40 and the back panel 11 of the device 10.

Second Embodiment

A second embodiment will be explained with reference to FIGS. 5-8. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the case 40, which shows individual holes for the camera unit 20 and the flash unit 30 which are covered by a camera shading part 74 and a flash shading part 75 respectively. The shading parts 74, 75 collectively form a flash guard and they can be short cylindrical holes and can be made of the shading material. Alternatively, the shading parts 74, 75 can be coated or painted with the shading material. The finished shading surface is preferably a matted surface to minimize the flash reflection, and to guard or prevent the light from the flash from negatively affecting any photos due to flash bounce or flash flare. As shown in FIG. 6, a back surface of the case 40 should be level with the bottom of the shading parts 74, 75 so as to not damage the device 10. The shading parts 74, 75 can be integrated with the case 40 either after individually manufactured or integrated simultaneously by insertion into a corresponding and matching hole in the case.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the case 4 with one large shading part 76 covering both the camera hole 50 and the flash hole 60 instead of having the two individual shading parts 74, 75. Again, when the case 4 is clear or translucent there is a tendency for light from the flash to negatively affect photos taken through the adjacent camera lens. The light from the flash tends to bounce off the translucent case and then causes ghosting or other adverse lighting effects. This singular hole configuration can be used with the camera lens and the flash adjacent to each other. In this orientation the larger, singular hole encompasses both the camera lens and the flash. The singular case hole can be an elliptical or other shaped hole that will circle, surround and enclose both the camera lens and the flash. This singular case hole has one large shaded surface 76 that forms the shaded flash guard whereby this flash guard prevents light from the flash from negatively affecting or impacting any photos due to flash bounce or flare. When the case does not have this shaded flash guard the flash tends to emit into and then bounce off the translucent or clear case whereafter it then enters the camera lens. By shading the surrounding area with shading 76 this flash bounce can be either eliminated entirely or sufficiently minimized. This flash guard formed by the singular, shaded hole can have either straight or sloped sides and does not need to be limited to any size or configuration. It can also be made from a matte or textured material.

FIG. 8 is a cross section of FIG. 7. All other characteristics are the same and the explanation of which will be omitted.

Third Embodiment

A third embodiment will be explained with reference to FIGS. 9-15. This example is the same as the second embodiment except that a shading part is detachable from the case 40. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the case 40, showing a detachable, large shading piece 77 and the device 10, and FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the case 40 with the detachable, large shading piece 77 installed. The case 40 has an elongated hole 80, and the area thereof should be sufficient to cover the camera lens unit 20 and the flash unit 30. This detachable piece can be configured so that it is either a singular piece with a singular hole cut out in the center, as shown or it can be configured so that it is a singular piece with separate holes cut out in the center for both the camera lens and the flash. The detachable large shading piece 77 is made of or coated with the shading color or the shading material and is shaped to match the elongated hole 80 to fit therein. As shown in FIG. 11, the detachable large shading part 77 can be attached on the device 10 temporarily or it can be permanently affixed to the case 40 around the camera lens hole 50 and the flash using a mechanism such as an adhesive, snapping, fastenering, or clipping. The cross section view of FIG. 12 shows that the detachable large shading piece 77 has a cylindrical camera lens hole 77 a and a cylindrical flash hole 77 b which are aligned to be placed over the camera unit 20 and the flash unit 30. The detachable large shading part 77 can be partially or entirely coated with the shading paint or shading material or can be made by the shading material in order to create the flash guard. It could also be made of a matte material as described above.

As shown in FIGS. 13-15, a shading piece camera lens cylindrical wall 77 c and a shading piece flash cylindrical wall 77 d can project from the detachable large shading part 77. FIG. 13 shows the cylindrical holes raising and projecting from a shading piece surface 77 e of the shading part 77, and FIG. 14 is a cross section of FIG. 13. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 15, the shading part 77 can be separated into a detachable camera lens shading part 77 e and a detachable flash shading piece 77 g. Obviously, the shapes and sizes of the elongated hole 70 can be selected according to each device and needs.

Fourth Embodiment

FIGS. 16-20 show another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a shading sticker 78 is used instead of the shading area or shading parts in the previous embodiments. FIG. 16 is a perspective view of this embodiment with an oval shading sticker with openings for the camera and the flash; FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the device with the shading sticker 80 on the device panel around the camera and flash; FIG. 18 is a cross section view of the device 40 with the sticker 80 covering almost the entire back panel 11 of the device; and FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the case, the device and another square type of shading sticker; and FIG. 20 is a perspective view of the case, the device and another circular type of shading sticker. Sizes and shapes of the shading sticker 80 can be decided depending upon needs.

While the embodiments of the present invention disclosed herein are presently considered to be preferred embodiments, various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The scope of the invention is indicated in the appended claims, and all changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalents are intended to be embraced therein. 

What we claim is:
 1. A case for a mobile phone where said mobile phone is equipped with a camera where said camera includes a camera lens and a flash and where said camera lens and said flash are adjacent to each other, said case comprising: a case body to at least partially enclose said mobile phone; at least one hole in said case body to expose said adjacent camera lens and flash, and a flash guard formed by a shading area on said hole.
 2. The case for a mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein said at least one hole has a hole wall and where said hole wall is funnel shaped so that said wall slants away from said camera lens and said flash, where a narrow part of said funnel is near said camera lens and said flash and where a wider part of said funnel is near an outer portion of said case and said flash guard is formed by said shading area on said hole wall.
 3. The case for a mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein a shading material is applied to said hole, and said shading material is a dark colored paint or a coloring material.
 4. The case for a mobile phone according to claim 1, where said shading area is made from a dark colored textured or matte material.
 5. The case for a mobile phone according to claim 2, where said shading area is made from a dark colored textured or matte material.
 6. The case for a mobile phone according to claim 2, wherein a shading material is applied to said hole wall, and said shading material is a dark colored paint or a coloring material.
 7. A case for a mobile phone where said mobile phone is equipped with a camera where said camera includes a camera lens and a flash and where said camera lens and said flash are adjacent to each other, said case comprising: a case body to at least partially enclose said mobile phone; at least one hole in said case body to expose said adjacent camera lens and flash, and a detachable flash guard where said detachable flash guard comprises: an inner circumference that is at least large enough to expose said camera lens and said flash; an outer circumference that matingly fits into said hole so that said detachable flash guard can be inserted and removed from said hole; and a shading area, where said detachable flash guard is either made from a shading material or said flash guard is coated with a dark colored paint or a colored material to form said shading area.
 8. The detachable flash guard of claim 7 where said detachable flash guard is made from a dark colored textured or matte material.
 9. The case for a mobile phone according to claim 7 where said inner circumference of said detachable flash guard is a funnel shaped wall such that it is slanted away from said camera lens and said flash wherein a narrow part of said funnel is near said camera lens and said flash and where a wider part of said funnel is near an outer portion of said case.
 10. The detachable flash guard of claim 9 where said detachable flash guard is made from a dark colored textured or matte material.
 11. A method of protecting against flash flare from a mobile phone flash caused by using a case for a mobile phone device with said mobile phone where said mobile phone is equipped with a camera and where said camera includes a camera lens and a flash and where said camera lens and said flash are adjacent to each other, steps to protecting against said flash flare comprising: creating said case that at least partially encloses said mobile phone; forming a hole with a hole wall in said case that is at least large enough to expose both said camera lens and said flash; forming a flash guard by having a shading surface on said hole wall; placing said camera in said case; taking a picture with said camera using said camera flash; and preventing said flash flare with said flash guard by scattering, diffusing and absorbing a light from said flash with said shading surface on said hole wall.
 12. The method of protecting against flash flare of claim 11 by said shading surface and further reducing said flash flare by texturing or matting said shading surface.
 13. The method of protecting against flash flare of claim 11 where said hole is funnel shaped such that a wider part of said funnel is at an outside portion of said case and where a narrower part of said funnel is near said camera lens and said flash.
 14. The method of protecting against flash flare of claim 13 by said shading surface and further reducing said flash flare by texturing or matting said shading surface.
 15. A method of protecting against flash flare from a mobile phone flash caused by using a case for a mobile phone device by using a flash guard to protect against said flash flare, where said mobile phone is equipped with a camera and where said camera includes a camera lens and said flash and where said camera lens and said flash are adjacent to each other, steps to protecting against said flash flare comprises: creating said case that at least partially encloses said mobile phone; forming a hole with a hole wall in said case that is at least large enough to expose both said camera lens and said flash; forming a detachable flash guard that is insertable and removable from said hole where said flash guard has: an inner circumference that is at least large enough to expose said camera lens and said flash; an outer circumference that matingly fits into said hole so that said flash guard can be inserted and removed from said hole; and said detachable flash guard is a shading material or is coated by a dark colored paint or a coloring material; inserting said detachable flash guard into said hole; inserting said camera into said case; taking a picture using said camera flash; and diffusing, scattering and absorbing light from said camera flash by said flash guard and preventing flash flare from light from said camera flash.
 16. The method of protecting against flash flare from a mobile phone flash of claim 15 where said flash guard is further made from a textured or matte material, preventing flash flare from light from said camera flash by further scattering said light. 